AP World History Unit 1 & Unit 2

Agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain.

Agrarian

pertaining to land or its cultivation; Ex. agrarian reform, agrarian society

Bands/ Clans

extended family groups that generally lived together

Civilization

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

City-States

different sections of land owned by the same country but ruled by different rulers (e.g. Greece)

Domestication

process of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans

Economy

system by which goods and services are produced and distributed to meet people's needs

Egalitarian

a person who believes in the equality of all people

Foraging

the process of scavenging for food

Hierarchy

a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system

Hunter-Gatherer

A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either plants nor animals

Irrigation

supplying dry land with water by means of ditches, sprinklers, etc.

Monarchy

a government in which power is in the hands of a single person who usually inherits their power

Monotheism

belief in a single God

Neolithic

The New Stone Age from circa 8500 to 4500 BCE: The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution(s)

Nomadic

(of groups of people) tending to travel and change settlements frequently

Pastoral

relating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep or cattle (e.g. pastoral peoples)

Paleolithic

The Old Stone Age from circa 750,00 to 500,000 years BCE to 8,500 years BCE: The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans and the development of minor tools

Philosophy

the rational investigation of questions about existence, knowledge, and ethics

Polytheism

belief in multiple Gods

River Valley

the fertile land surrounding a river- the first civilizations arose near them

Sedentary

remaining in one place

Settlement

the act of colonizing or a small group of people in a sedentary position

Subsistence

the necessities of life, the resources of survival

Surplus

a quantity much larger than is needed

Sustenance

the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence

Theocracy

government run by religious leaders

Traditional

consisting of or derived from tradition; customary practices

Urbanization

the social process whereby cities grow and societies become more urban

Bronze Age

a period between the Stone and Iron ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons

Code of Hammurabi

the set of laws drawn up by Babylonian king Hammurabi dating to the 18th century BC, the earliest legal code known in its entirety

Cuneiform

One of the first written languages known: A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted to represent other languages of western Asia.

Democracy

a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Iron Age

the period following the Bronze Age; characterized by rapid spread of iron tools and weapons

Pyramids

Huge stone tombs with four triangle-shaped walls that met in a point on top

Shang Civilization

China's first dynasty almost 2000 BCE

Ziggurats

a temple or tomb of the ancient Assyrians, Sumerians, or Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories

Trans Saharan

route across the sahara desert. Major trade route that traded for gold and salt, created caravan routes, economic benefit for controlling dessert, camels played a huge role in the trading

Monsoons

Major winds in the Indian Ocean that blew into India for half the year, and blew away from India for the other half. Helped facilitate trade in the Indian Ocean.

Sumerians

people who dominated Southern Mesopotamia through the end of the 3rd Millennium BCE. Responsible for the creation of irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions.

Indo-Europeans

Groups of people who came from the area north of the Caucasus mountains, which are between the Black and Caspian seas. Herded multiple animals. Rode into battle on chariots. The Indo-European language of Sanskrit, by the Aryans, are the basis of many languages today. Often accepted and adapted aspects of technology, religions, and social order of those with whom they came in contact.

Before agriculture, men and women are believed to have a greater degree of equality. But after the rise of agriculture, most human societies became ________ as a result of greater male strength.

Patriarchal

caste system

a set of rigid social categories that determined not only a person's occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society, there was virtually no social mobility

Paleolithic

(Old Stone Age) a long period of human development before the development of agriculture

Carthage

This city has existed for nearly 3,000 years, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC into the capital of the Carthaginian Empire. Controlled commerce in the Mediterranean prior to the rise of Roman Power. The expanding Roman Republic took control of many of its outposts after the two Punic Wars.

North America

Caribbean

Latin America

Central Africa

East Africa

East Asia

Eastern Europe

Middle East (Southwest Asia)

South Africa

South Asia

Southeast Asia

West Africa

Western Europe

Norte Chico

A region along the coast of Peru that possessed a highly-developed urban culture as early as 2500 B.C.E. Characterized by massive stepped pyramids and extensive use of cotton.

Indus Valley

3rd millennium BC, Elaborately planned cities, standardized measures, irrigated agriculture, written language, no temples kings etc., had a lot of land, no political hierarchy, was abandoned because of mass deforestation, low crop yields, famine, environmental deterioration, etc. their influence continued even to this day (i.e. yoga). Important because it shows how we developed in our cities and economy.

Olmec Civilization

earliest known American civilization, located in southern Mexico and known for its pyramids and huge stone heads

Uruk

an ancient Sumerian city in Southern Iraq, near the Euphrates, important before 2000 b.c. : exclusive archaeological excavations, notably of a ziggurat and of tablets with very early Sumerian script.

Mohenjo-Daro / Harappa

the two main cities of india, know as twin capitals and both 3 miles in circumference

Epic of Gilgemesh

Mesopotamian flood story that includes legends and myths, the friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu

Code of Hammurabi

A collection of 282 laws which were enforced under Hammurabi's Rule. One of the first examples of written law in the ancient civilizations.

Patriarchy

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

Rise of the State

A process of centralization that took place in the First Civilizations, growing out of the greater complexity or urban life in recognition of the need for coordination, regulation, adjudication, and military leadership

Egypt: "the gift of the Nile"

provided annual and predictable flooding that benefited and provided a sustainable lifestyle for this civilization, also gave them a stable and positive worldview, proved unty and independence and security

Nubia

A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major iron working industry by 500 BCE

Venus Figurines

Paleolithic carvings of the female form, often with exaggerated breasts, buttocks, hips, and stomachs, which may have had religious significance

Dreamtime

A complex worldview of Australia's Aboriginal people that held that current humans live in an echo of ancestral happenings

Clovis Culture

The earliest widespread and distinctive culture of North America; named from the Clovis point, a particular kind of projectile point

Austronesian Migrations

The last phase of the great human migration that established a human presence in every habitable region of the earth. Austronesian-speaking people settled the Pacific island and Madagascar in a series of seaborne migrations that began around 3,500 years ago

shamans

In many early societies, a person believed to have the ability to act as a leasion between living humans and supernatural forces, often by means of trances induced by psychoactive drugs

Paleolithic settling down

The process by which some Paleolithic peoples moved toward permanent settlement in the wake of the last Ice Age. Settlement was marked by increasing storage of food and accumulation of goods, as well as growing inequalities in society

Gobekli Tepe

oldest religious structure. made by hunter gathers. Indicates that religion came before organization of labor, settlement and agriculture

Fertile Crescent

A geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates

Teosinte

a wild grass found in the highlands of Mexico, is the wild ancestor of maize

Diffusion

Is the process by which a characterictic spreads

Bantu Migrations

(1500BCE to 500CE) As the Bantu people migrated, they spread the Bantu family of languages and culture. The Bantu also spread the use of iron, which improved farming techniques and agricultural efficiency, the greater food supply sparked economic development and population growth. The changes instigated by the Bantu migration increased the vitality of sub-Saharan Africa.

Pastoral Societies

Based on the domestication of animals and use their products as main source of food. Groups move where there is foods but they are more settlers than nomads. Independent and warlike.

Catalhuyuk

Good example of agricultural village society. Social structure, buried dead, many people, well built houses, specialization.

Chiefdoms

A society that is led by a ruler of decent, but seldom used force to lead their people. They relied on generosity, charisma, and leadership to rule.

Paleolithic Rock Art

The hundreds of Paleolithic painting discovered in Spain and France, dating to about 20,000 years ago; these paintings depict a range of animals, although human figures and abstract designs are also found.

Neanderthals

Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, a European varient of Homo sapiens that died out about 25,000 years ago

Agrarian

relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land

Mesopotamia

the name for the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq plus Kuwait, the eastern parts of Syria

Phoenicians

dominant traders and merchants who created purple dye and established Carthage.

Israelites

a member of the ancient Hebrew nation, especially in the period from the Exodus to the Babylonian Captivity

Characteristics of a Civilization

cities, government, trade, social structure, writing and art

Chaldean

renowned astrologers and astronomers.

Chavin Cult

extinct prehistoric culture found in the Andean highlands of Peru

Hebrews

a member of an ancient people living in what is now Israel and Palestine and, according to biblical tradition, descended from the patriarch Jacob, grandson of Abraham.

Mandate of Heaven

is an ancient Chinese belief/theory and philosophical idea that tiān (heaven) granted emperors the right to rule based on their ability to govern well, appropriately and fairly.

Horse-drawn chariots

humanities first form of personal transport, used as a technological advancement in warfare and conquest.

Babylon

an ancient city of SW Asia, on the Euphrates River, famed for its magnificence and culture: capital of Babylonia and later of the Chaldean empire.

Sargon of Akkad

was the first ruler of the Semitic-speaking Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.

Assyrians

an ancient empire in SW Asia: greatest extent from about 750 to 612 b.c. the Capital: Nineveh.

Hittites

a member of an ancient people who established an empire in Asia Minor and Syria that flourished from circa 1700 to circa 1200 BCE

Caste System

a class structure that is determined by birth. Loosely, it means that in some societies, if your parents are poor, you're going to be poor, too. Same goes for being rich