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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