Ancient Civ Chapter 1 + 2 Test pt. 1

Artifacts

physical items left behind

Documents

written historical info/evidence

Prehistory

Time period with no writing

Paleolithic

Old stone age

How people survived the Ice Age

They adapted to their environment by moving with the animals

Nomads

People who move place to place to survive and have no permanent home

Hunter gatherer

Men and women who hunted and gathered, lived in small bands of about 20-30 people, men hunted animals and women gathered and farmed, men and women were viewed as equals

Cave art and Venus of Willendorf

Important artifacts found that show and teach us about the Paleolithic people and their cultures

Neolithic

New stone age

Neolithic Revolution

Began first in the Middle East, happened at different times on different continents, people stopped the nomadic way of life and began to settle down, one of the biggest moments in history, first big revolution

Bronze Age

End of neolithic era, when copper + bronze begin to be used

Significance of Farming

Domesticate animals and plants, permanent communities, more control over environment, population growth, division of labor, new technologies, inequality, new stage of human development = civilization

Civilization

advanced stage of human society → some culture, divisions of government and labor, some math and science

8 characteristics of civilization

cities = center of all civilization, well-organized government, complex religion, job specialization, social classes, arts + architecture, public works, writings

cultural diffusion

One culture borrowing attractive elements from enother culture

fertile crescent

Mesopotamia and the land along the Mediterranean Sea; modern day countries in it are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan; contains flat open plains, and is a crossroads for cultural diffusion and the exchange of ideas

Mesopotamia

Located betwen the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, geography of it is an X between Greece, Africa, Asia, India → lots of fighting

ziggurat

Temples built by the Sumerians for the gods + where they held ceremonies at the top and people watched from the bottom

polytheism

worship many gods, practiced by Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, New Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, and Phoenicians

hierarchy

based on division of labor, top = king + priests, middle = scribes, merchants, and artisans, bottoms = commoners + slaves

patriarchy

male dominated society

cuneiform

earliest form of writing, used wedge to write on clay slab, latin for “wedge tablet”, came before hyroglyphics, picturegraphs that are not based on phonics, learned by boys who went to school, significance = 1st written language, used for thousands of years in Middle East → every conquering group culturally diffuses this

behistun rock

Rock where cuneiform was discovered and where the Epic of Gilgamesh was found

Sir Henry Rawlinson

Discovered Behistun roc, knows ancient persian which was written next to cuneiform tablets → how they could translate

Epic of Gilgamesh

oldest literary work in history, story about a legendary king/hero looking for immortality, inscribed on 12 tablets, similar to Noah’s Ark, significant because had lots of info on custom, life, cultures, and beliefs

Code of Hammurabi

oldest known legal system, “published” laws on a 7ft. tall pillar which is currently in Paris, set of laws for all to follow, codify civil + criminal law, “eye for an eye”, very clear punishments, unfair → favors men and upperclass, very patrairchal but still need to protect the women, help the powerless → women can divorce + can have business, value justice, patriarchy, farming, obedience, and life

Zoroastrianism

Religion + cultural contribution of the Persians, followed Dualism → war between good and evil; good = Ahura Mazda, single wise God who rules the world; bad = Ahriman, prince of lies and darkness; bible = avesta, similar to Judaism and Christianity

King Menes

Unified upper and lower Egypt using the Nile in 3100 BC

Old Kingdom

2575 - 2130 BC, most famous things happen here, Sumerians are alive + taken over by Akkadians, age of prosperity and splendor, powerful rulers ruling ove unified states, when pyramids were built = age of pyramids

Dynasty

ruling family, what the OK was

Pharaoh

title of egyptian king, means “great house/palace”, kept ma’at in order, both king and god (divine), absolute power, religious figure, not a government job

Ma’at

universal cosmic order, not easy to keep in balance

Theocracy

a state that is ruled by religious figure, mixing of religious and government figures

Bureaucracy

people who help the Pharaoh with farming, tax, census, irrigation, etc., not lots of power, normally related to pharaoh

Vizier

right-hand man of the pharaoh, hereditary position

Pyramids at Giza

built by pharaohs at different times, large public works project built by farmers during flood season, shows egyptians possessed everything necessary to build this = shows they had craftspeople, architects, large labor force, and lots of matierials, math skills, + tools

Hyksos

a group from west asia that briefly occupies Egypt in the MK, have chariots + armor, in for about 100 years, pushed out = start of NK

Hatshepsut

not first female pharaoh, but first to use her own name, rules for her nephew, wears false beard and headdress, rules for 20 years, not interested in conquering, economy prospers

Ramses II

most famous pharaoh of NK, driven crazy by Moses, rules for 60 years, lives to 90, good pharaoh = economic prosperity, builds monuments and artistic things, very good military leader = goes to war with Hittites and ends in first peace treaty, 200 wives + mistresses, , after death, NK starts to slowly fade away

Amon-Re

father of all sun gods, human with a falcon head

Osiris

very fair + just ruler, ruled during Golden age (good, happy time of prosperity), killed by his jealous brother Set, brought back to life by his wife → ressurects = symbol of life, judger of the underworld

Isis

Wife of Osiris, mother of Horus → miracle son, powerful woman who goes to the end of the earth for her Husband → example of egyptian view of marriage, very strong woman = women pharaohs, sews husband back together = mummification

Horus

Son of Isis, avenges his father Osiris and deals with Set

Afterlife

eternal life after death, most important religious belief to the ancient Egyptians, shaped the way they lived their lives on earth

Ka

your heart and soul, what is presented to Osiris to be weighed

Anubis

the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld

Thoth

god of the moon, reckoning, learning, and writing

Ammut

Crocodile shaped Eater of Death that your Ka was fed to if it outweighed the feather

Mummification

practice by the Egyptians where they took out all the intestines except the heart, dry body out with salt, wrap it in linen, and paint the face or put a mask on so that it can be recognized by Osiris for judgement, takes about 70 dys but depends on level of wealth

Canopic jars

Jars where intestines are stored after mummification

Akhenaton and Nerfertiti

only monotheistic pharaohs, believed Egyptians should only worship the sun god → egyptians freak out because other gods get angry + river starts to flood uncontrollably, rule for only 20 years, changed his name to Amenhetop IV to reflect religion of sun god

Howard Carter

Discovered King Tut’s tomb intact in 1922

King Tut

pharaoh from 8-18, son or son-in-law of Nefertiti, his tomb provides artifact evidence that gives us a picture of everyday life

Valley of the Kings, Luxor

Where the tombs of the pharaohs are found

Class system

1 = pharaoh and his family; 2 = priests/priestesses, small group of nobles; 3 = middle class → merchants, artisans, scribes; 4 = farmers

Women in Egypt

very respected → Isis, can divorce, own property, make own business, most priveleged women at this time period, can’t be a scribe or in government

Hieroglyphics

Inscribed into stone on temples, tombs, and monumets; used art, symbols, and writing; simplified writing forms for everyday use; hieratic = more everyday, demotic = more business; debeloped so priests + scribes could keep records, usually found on papyrus

Papyrus

where hieroglyphics were written, does not degrade or fall apart

Rosetta Stone

Key to translation, found in Nile Delta in 1799, discovered by French, written in Hieroglyphics, Demotic, ancient Greek

Jean Champollion

Deciphered the Rosetta stone

monotheism

worshipping only one god, not practiced by many ancient civilizations

Middle Kingdom

1938 - 1630 BC, est. after a 100+ period of disunity that followed fall of OK, briefly occupied by the Hysksos → have chariots + armor, occupy for about 100 years, cultural diffusion (learn to make chariots, adopt their weapons, make armor, bronze), egyptians overpower them → start of New Kingdom

New Kingdom

1539 - 1075 BC, “Age of Empire”, powerful military → aware of other civilizations, time of wealth, egyptian power slowly begins to decline by 1075 BC, conquered by Nubia, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans