Tech and Civ Exam 2

Oracle Bones - A form of early Chinese Writing that was used to communicate with the Gods, interpreting their demands and predicting the future. These Oracle Bones gave us good information on who was in charge at the time and significant events in China around the time. 

Confucianism - A philosophy founded by Confucius and stated that Heads of households must act fairly and in the best interests of the household. The members of the houses must obey the Father’s decisions. Believed that people were good in theory and would do good if they are sufficiently educated. A harmonic Society is possible through education. Was the foundation for China’s cultural belief system. 

Bureaucracy - Imperial China was a hierarchical meritocracy and the leaders it chose were chosen because they were educated and were good leaders. This was a transition away from the systems of leaders based on blood, land, and birth lineages. A civil servant position was highly sought after and respect in Ancient China, and was more sought after than becoming a merchant

Information Technology - Information technology is technology that unites people under one general rule, enabling governments to more easily maintain power and authority over people. Some examples include the Persian Roads and Postal system, The Standardization of weights and measurements, and the Chinese Census. All of these make the empire or society more standardized and easier to rule

Beacon Towers - Towers that outlined the territories of Imperial China and were used to pass messages of nomadic invaders when they approached their territories. Was important to Chinese sovereignty, as many nomadic outlying tribes would loot and pillage the empire. 

Compass - Invented in China(206), was used in geomancy (art of aligning buildings), and eventually was used by Chinese Sailors to get to the spice islands. Would eventually enable European explorers to “discover” the new world

Gunpowder - Invented in China(800s) during alchemist’s quest to find a life-extending elixir, it was later used in war. Gunpowder helped the Mongols take over the Song dynasty, whereas in Europe it rendered Castles much weaker, leading to the fall of feudalism.

Woodblock printing - Invented during the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-906), it was the precursor to the Movable type printing. It Limited human error in book reproduction and disseminated knowledge at record speeds. It protected info from being destroyed so easily and made it more accessible to the general public. It also enabled Religion to spread and the printing of paper money

Paper - created during the Han Dynasty (206-220) as a means to find an inexpensive and portable writing surface. Enabled the civil service exam, paper money, and the wide dissemination of information

Paper money - Adopted in the 900s, Paper money invented to streamline trade and commercial expansion. IOUs were standardized and extended trust at large. It was originally back by gold, silver, and eventually fiat money. Allowed for bartering to take a back seat and allowed trade to flourish across empires.

Census - a form of Information technology that enabled societies to more effectively rule their societies. Confucius said that you should bow whenever you approach the census table, as it was a very important technology that enabled a better functioning society. Was enabled by the mass production of paper. Oldest Census was in the Han Dynasty in 2CE

Civil Service Exam - Exam to determine if one can become a civil servant, which was very sought after and well respected. These civil servants replaced aristocrats with people educated to rule the empire. This was a bureaucrat, who ran the bureaucracy. Families sent their songs to become educated enough to become a bureaucrat and give the family an honorable name

Zheng He - Gift giver of China, Zheng He would take his massive ships to the islands surrounding China and give them gifts as peacemaking and diplomacy. He expected tribute in return for these elaborate gifts. 

Ibn Battuta - Another traveler who traveled to Mecca. Then he traveled across the 

Mansa Musa - King of Mali empire, wealthiest man in the world at the time (gold and salt). So rich he disrupted the entire town's economy with gold, and His hajj to Mecca brought back cultural elements from the middle east back to Mali. Spread Arabesque Artistic styles across the region and muslim values.

Ghana Empire - Empire that served mostly as protections for trade, and a precursor to the Wealthier mali empire. The Ghana Empire served as a brokerage system and gave protection to the salt and gold traders in the region (7-13th Century)

Mali Empire - (14th Century)   Lead by Mansa Musa, was one of the wealthiest empires of all time. They were very involved in the Cross Saharan Desert Trade, salt and gold. Musa’s Hajj' brought Islamic elements to the region. 

Camel Saddle - important technology that enabled the cross saharan desert trade, as traders could now ride on and carry goods to market with a camel, rather than walking to the locations. Enabled the Ghana and Mali empires to grow wealthy off of this trade. 

Caravan Trade - A way of transporting a lot of goods at once, with multiple camels all loaded up. This enabled people to transport a lot of goods more easily. This enabled the massive trade networks that we have discovered in the region.

Silk Road - The Silk Road was an interconnected network of trading towns from Rome to China. Most of the trade was between China and the Middle East. The Chinese government protected traders along the road. It was far more effective at transporting plagues, ideas, and religion than it was any good, Silk or otherwise. It prompted civilizations to keep records, so now we know a lot about long gone societies because surviving ones kept records of trade manifests and legal documents. “The road to Samarkand”, Bolts of Silk as currency, Cotton, gunpowder, horses, and paper. The network of exchanges of things and ideas, both intended and accidental, through trade, diplomacy, conquest, migration, and pilgrimage. 

Oasis Town - Towns on the silk road that functioned as stopover/trading towns that would resupply traders and let them stay. “Oasis” because usually these had oasis to provide water to the traveler. 

Turfan - Oasis Town that was built into the rock, as no timber or water was around. Water came from Qanats, which enabled groundwater to flow to the town. This irrigation enabled the town to exist and provide support to traders along the silk road. It is an example of religious syncretism, as it shows how as Buddhism spread across the region, the representations of Buddha changed to look more like the population that worshiped him. 

Syncretism - Cultural syncretism took place across the Silk Road and other trade networks, as cultures interacted with other cultures. Swahili, Buddhism and its other folk religion off-shoots(Local gods w/ deities of Buddhism of other religions)(Religious Syncretism)

Swahili - Swahili language is derived from arabic and bantu language, as a result of trade between the two in the region. It was the lingua franca of much of Eastern Africa

Diplomacy - Diplomacy is the official recognition of another state’s sovereignty, and is used to exert power without military conflict. Gift giving was a form of diplomacy that was intended to prevent conflict. 

Tribute - The gift giving or tribute system was a way to show respect and to make peace with other nations, as well as show your devotion to a leader. 

Gift-Giving - gift giving was a way to make peace and to get good fortune with the gods and other people in your community or area. 

Diaspora - groups of people from other countries setting up in places that are selling goods. These groups of people kept their identities, spreading it along with the trade network they were connected with. (Spread Islam in middle east, N Africa, and Buddhism across the Silk Road)

Cahokia - Was an early Mississippian(800-1500) City that checked all of the boxes for civilization, but wasn’t considered so until pretty recently, and suffered from bias from Europeans when it was found. They used a system of crop rotation to enable high population densities

Indian Mounds - Indian Civilizations built large mounds as spiritual places

Milpas farming  - system of farming that was used throughout central and south american in which 3 crops are simultaneously cultivated. Those crops, maize, beans, and squash, all provided a symbiotic relationship to one another, allowing them all to flourish and grow

Inca Empire - late successors to the Caral Supe of Peru. They were good at adopting and adapting technologies of other civilizations. Small ethnic group developed a massive border, using a large military, Infrastructure, assimilation over conquest, and the Mit’a system of labor tribute. Incan Runners transported messages all over the country.

Quipu - Incan technology for recording things on colored, beaded strings.

Nazca lines - Lines in the soil in Peru. Spiritual formations that represent deities or other figures created to please the gods and grant religious benefits

Prescribed burning - While it may have seemed to the early explorers of America that the inhabitants were primitive and lived a simple life, the land they inhabited was anything but virgin. Prescribed Burnings in the Amazon and other places in the Americas is an example of how Native Americans altered their landscape to fit their needs.

Terrace farming - Used primarily in South America, it consisted of planting different plants at different heights, creating different microenvironments for each plant. Another example of the sophistication of these Ancient American Civilizations

Fish weirs - Nets that were set to catch fish in high tides or in temporary ponds. These fish could be kept until needed, an early form of dry freezing. This is another form of advanced use of environment by Pre-Columbian American Societies 

Battle of Cajamarca - Battle between the Inca and a small spanish form led by Francisco Pizzaro that ended in the abduction of the Incan ruler. The Incans knew the land, but Disease and political unrest weakened them. 

Arabia - Arabia is located in the Middle East and was the cradle of Islam. It was the location of many great civilizations and lots of technological innovation and trade. 

Mecca - Mecca was a Caravan town with many important religious sites(Ka’ba). This is where Mohammed began his call to his one true God, which eventually upset the ruling families in Mecca. Continued to preach in Medina, and eventually was able to return to Mecca with his Uma and overthrow the rulers of Mecca

Madrasa - Madrasas are places of study in the Islamic world that housed lots of knowledge. People learned about Greek and hellenistic subjects like astronomy and geometry. Maraghah school of Astronomy is one example of these schools.  The collection of knowledge was very important for Arabic Caliphs and knowledge was important in society

Iwan - Islamic Architecture that consists of a 3 sided vault that was a space of refuge, or the gateway to a space of refuge. It is supposed to symbolize Mohammed’s time getting scripture in a cave.

Qanat - used in oasis towns to retrieve water from the ground, it was a series of holes dug into mountains that brought ground water from up high to the towns, located below the mountains.

Hajj - Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca to visit the Kaaba. When people took this pilgrimage they brought pieces of culture to the regions and brought the culture of the area back to their homeland

Asbad - Asbads were the windmills of Persian. Windmills were used as a form of power to power houses and aid in the processing of goods

Translation Movement - The Translation movement was a collective effort all across the Islamic world to translate knowledge from other civilizations into Arabic*lingua Franca). It united scholars of different languages and cultures. (8th - 10th) It promoted a period of learning and innovation in the Islamic Empire. Knowledge was revered. 

House of Wisdom - the house of Wisdom was an important physical center where a lot of Scholarship and research was conducted. It functioned as a library and research center, and Astronomy and mathematics flourished here. It brought scholars from all over, and Caliphs liked this because knowledge was revered. 

Nurj Hospital - Early hospital located in Damascus , established in the 12th century. Medicine underwent a change in ancient islam, as knowledge from all different societies was collected and utilized. Research was also conducted within these hospitals on different treatments

Materia Medica - Early Pharmacies located alongside these early hospitals that stocked up on medicinal remedies. The actual Materia Medica cataloged the medicinal properties of a ton of plants and recorded how to prepare different remedies. The Dioscorides De Materia Medica had over 600 plants and over 1000 medicines.

Bimaristan - Islamic Hospitals that combined treatment and research

Salerno MEdical School - Medical School in the Islamic Empire in the 9th CE, where researchers conducted research and learned so that they could become licenses physicians 

Holistic Medicine - Holistic Medicine consists of treating not just the illness but the lifestyle affected by negative things. It took into account the body as a whole, requiring that people change their lifestyle for the better for the treatment to be effective. (Eating better, staying off drugs, exercising)

Humoralism - An ancient health theory that believed that health came from balance between the 4 bodily fluids called humors. Came around in the 5th century BCE

Acupuncture - Using needles, it manipulated the flow of qi along meridians and balanced yin and yang energies. Was an ancient Chinese form of medicine.

Bloodletting - Was used to purge the body of bad humors and bad things. Enemas were also used to rid the body of bad omens

Hippocratic oath - Early Physicians Oath  that all physicians took that said they would not hurt patients and would not exploit them either. It also prevented them from sharing any private information of their patients. This was an early form of a Code of Ethics that governed physicians and protected patients.

Public Health - Public health is the government's interest in protecting the health of the entire public, not interested in one person. During the The plagues of Europe, governments had to decide at what cost does the government regulate its citizens to protect public health

Cordon sanitaire - a line that surrounded an area infected by a disease that prevented people from getting out. People had to be quarantined to prevent the spread of plague, however sometimes the citizens rebelled because they didn’t want to give up their freedom

Black Death - The Black Death was a plague that hit Europe in the 14th Century that initially spread from China. It swiftly killed populations of cities and spread along the silk road. It killed between 75 and 200 million in Europe alone. Cities would take decades, even centuries to recover, and public health would get a makeover. People believed it was bad air and quarantined

Miasma - the noxious or “bad” air that ancient theories of health were based on. Was eventually disproved.

Quarantine - Governments instituted quarantines of 40 days where people thought to be infected with the plague were kept away from the general public for 40 days, or until they died. 

Lazaretto - ‘Pest Houses”, where quarantined citizens would spend their 40 day quarantine

Health Pass

Bills of Mortality - Began after the Black Death, to truly understand how bad plagues affected Society. An information technology to help governments response to plagues

Manorialism - the economic part of Feudalism, where lords controlled and profited from the land that peasants worked. These peasants were dependent on the Lords for work.

Feudalism - (9th -15th) century, the hierarchical system where Kings granted land to lords in exchange for loyalty, and in turn these lords trained knights who protected the kingdom, and had peasants who worked the land. This was necessary as kings of this period were relatively weak and power lay in who could obtain the loyalty of the most lords, as lords ruled over their respective land.

Canon/artillery - Once gunpowder arrived medieval europe in the 13th century, it had an impact upon the feudal system. European castles usually had straight up and down walls, meaning that gunpowder was particularly effective at taking them down, which would eventually bring the downfall of the feudal system

Gothic - Architectural style of medieval cathedrals that consisted of cross shaped cathedrals with high reaching ceilings designed to make you feel like you are among the gods, gazing upon heaven. The loss of construction tech disallowed domed ceilings as the medieval Europeans didn't carry on the use of concrete from the Romans, but innovations like the flying buttress and ribbed ceilings helped make large stone roofs possible.

Crusades - Papal War that sought to reinstate the control of the holy land to the European Christians. Occurred over 200 years between 1100 and 1300, a period in which the tech transfer between the Islamic Region and the Europeans took place. Food and Goods, Military Techniques and technologies, as well as books and knowledge were exchanged. The pope also waged this war to show his power, as some kings were becoming powerful enough to challenge him. Trade still took place between Muslims and Christians regardless of the fighting

Domesday Book - written in 1086 CE, records some of the 6,000+ water and animal powered mills of various types in England. Showed England’s transition away from man power and efficient use of the environment around them.