[AP World History] Chapters 7-8 Vocabulary: Roman History and Early Americas Vocabulary

Flashcards based on Roman history and early American civilizations.

annona

the Roman government's distribution of grain to the population, which was also a political tool for the emperor

centuriation

the Roman practice of dividing land into a grid in preparation for development and agriculture

clients

less well-off Romans who relied on a patron's gifts for subsistence

Colosseum

a large structure in Rome that was the site of gladiatorial matches and other entertainments

domus

the name for a typical Roman house, as well as the family unit

gladiator

an enslaved professional fighter paid to battle before an audience, sometimes to the death

Hellenism

a high regard for the cultural institutions of Greece including its religion, philosophy, and system of education

imperial cult

the religious cult that venerated the Roman emperors as gods

lanista

the trainer and manager of a group of gladiators

latifundia

large agricultural estates in the countryside, worked by enslaved people to produce profit for the owner

legion

the basic unit of the Roman army, made up of around five thousand soldiers

manumission

the process of releasing a person from slavery, usually in front of a magistrate or via a slaveholder's will, or through a person's purchasing their own freedom

paterfamilias

the patriarch of an extended Roman family, with authority over his wife, children, and any other dependents

patron

a wealthy Roman aristocrat sought by clients in need of assistance

publicani

provincial contractors who bid for the right to collect taxes and profited from the excess money they gathered

vestal virgins

the priesthood of six women who took a vow of chastity and maintained the sacred fire in Rome

Beringia

a section of low-lying land between modern Alaska and Russia, now underwater, that once served as a land bridge between continents

Clovis culture

a culture consisting of mobile bands of hunter-gatherers who camped at resource-rich locations in modest populations across North America

Hopewell tradition

a widely dispersed mound-building tradition that emerged in the Eastern Woodlands around 200 BCE, linked by a network of trade routes

Mississippian tradition

a widely dispersed mound-building tradition that created a number of urban settlements linked by trading networks in the southeastern United States around 700

Nazca Lines

a group of geoglyphs made on the desert floor in southern Peru representing both geometric patterns and images of animals

Norte Chico

the culture of partially settled agricultural communities in the Andes region; also known as the Caral civilization

Pueblo architecture

a building style of the early American Southwest that relied on stone or wooden frames covered in adobe clay

Triple Alliance

an alliance formed in 1428 between the Aztecs and two neighboring city-states, Texcoco and Tlacopan